Baby Steps to Eating Healthier Food | Choose a New Lifestyle

Thanks for stopping by to Flawed yet Functional! I, Emily, am a Type 1 Diabetic who is managing my health without additional insulin (for 1 year and counting!). I am passionate about helping other people take control of their health and lead a fulfilled life. My most recent interactions with Type 1 Diabetics or pre-Diabetics revolve around the issue of how or where to start eating healthier food. They fully realize their diet needs to change, but how do you go about it? To help answer this question, I’ve created a series of posts that I wish I had known when I began my health journey. Let’s jump into Baby Steps to Eating Healthier Food, Step 1 | Choose a New Lifestyle!

What is a Healthy Food?

First, let me level set what I believe “healthy food” or “healthy diet” to be. I mean fresh meat, vegetables, and fruit. I do not mean packaged food, most frozen food (except plain frozen vegetables), sweets, or abnormally large amounts of anything. For example, I’ve seen people on the Keto diet eat only dairy to keep carbs low. That is not healthy. Vegetables, meat, and some fruit is needed daily.

If it grows from the ground or comes from an animal, I consider it healthy! “Healthy” applies to many diets out there (I’ll go into detail below), but they are all similar as the most basic level: fresh meat, vegetables, and fruit. So what is the first step to eating healthier food? Choose a new lifestyle (AKA diet)!

Choose a New Lifestyle (aka Diet)

To most people, the word “diet” brings up thoughts of crazy fads that promise tons of weight loss with little effort. The reality of these fad diets is constant hunger and rebounding the weight once you stop the diet. Most people think of diet as a short-term fix to a weight problem. This is not what I’m talking about.

Baby Step #1 is about selecting a new framework for your diet that will last forever, this is why I call it a lifestyle. It is not a fad. It will not be over in 30 days. While that might sound daunting, remember if your health is failing you now, that is likely largely due to how you currently eat. Something has to change in order for your health to improve. I promise you changing your lifestyle/diet is challenging at first but quickly becomes second nature.

The reason I suggest naming your new diet is to help you find recipes and resources that will fit into your new lifestyle and help you meet your health goals. I did not do this when beginning my gluten-free, insulin-free journey because I had no one to tell me that it would be helpful! If I had named my diet sooner, I could have revolutionized my diet faster and more completely (and thereby could have kept my pancreas functioning at a higher level!). This step is to educate you and make future changes easier. With that in mind, let’s review some common diets that I believe to be good lifestyles to adopt.

Hands down, this is my favorite diet. It is the most comprehensive with allowance of meats, vegetables, and fruits making it the least restrictive to adopt (in my opinion).

Basics of Diet

Sometimes called the caveman diet, the Paleo diet says you should eat only what people would have eat in the Paleolithic period. Boiled down, if it’s meat or plant, eat it. If it’s processed (snacks, sugar, pasta, etc.) don’t. There’s no need to count calories or carbs on this diet (unless other health reasons call for it, diabetes!). Just eat balanced meals until you are full.

Other important factors are moderate exercise, sleep, and keeping stress low. Focus on these after the food is down pat.

Do’s Eat

All vegetables (except soy)

All fruit

All meat

Eggs

Nuts

Oil/Fats

Don’t Eat

Dairy – cheese, milk, yogurt, etc.

Grains – corn, wheat, barley, rye, etc.

Legumes

Processed food

Refined sugar

Soy

Keywords

Use these keywords to help narrow the recipe search on Google or Pinterest.

Paleo

Caveman diet

Resources

General Paleo Information

Paleo Recipes

Basics of Diet

This diet is often called the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol. It is a stricter version of Paleo with a more specific plan and health goal. It is designed to eliminate the symptoms of autoimmune diseases and, in some cases, cure the disease. There is tons of research out there as to the triggers of autoimmune diseases, and food is one of them. This diet will help you identify what food is causing the autoimmune response in your body.

The Autoimmune Protocol has a strict 30 day “Elimination Period” where many foods are eliminated in addition to the traditional Paleo diet’s. After those 30 days (maybe longer as your body needs), food are reintroduced in a specific, careful way and the effects of the foods are measured.

This diet is only necessary if you have an autoimmune disease. Although, it won’t hurt you if you don’t have an autoimmune condition and choose to follow along with this diet for the sake of a loved one (my family does this!).

Other important factors are moderate exercise, consistent adequate sleep, keeping stress low, and possibly some supplements. Focus on these after the food is down pat.

Resources

General AIP Information

AIP Recipes

Basics of Diet

The Ketogenic diet is a high fat, moderate protein, and low carbohydrate diet. The liver will transform all the fat eaten into ketones which will fuel the entire body. The benefits of this diet are rapid weight loss while not going hungry at all! Fat allows you to be satisfied at the end of a meal and stay full until the next meal. Unlike we were taught in the 80’s, fat does not make you fat. Quite the opposite, in fact, fat will make you thin!

Food restrictions are more loose in the Ketogenic diet with the primary focus being on Macros. Macros (macronutrients, molecules that the body uses to make energy) are the three primary food segments that are kept in line to maintain ketosis in the body.

Fat – 75%*

Protein – 20%*

Carbs – 5%*

*Percentage of total grams of food (fat, protein, carbs) eaten in a day.

Other important factors are moderate exercise, sleep, and keeping stress low. Focus on these after the food is down pat.

Do’s Eat

All meat

Berries

Dairy

Eggs

Nuts

Oil/Fats

Vegetables grown above ground

Don’t Eat

Grains – Corn, Wheat, Barley, Rye, etc.

High Carb Fruit

Legumes

Processed food

Refined sugar/Candy/Soda

Keywords

Use these keywords to help narrow the recipe search on Google or Pinterest.

Keto

Ketogenic

Low-Carb

Resources

General Keto Information

Keto Recipes

Basics of Diet

This diet is not a lifestyle change but rather a 30 day “reset” for your body. The principles are so similar to the Autoimmune Protocol that I thought I’d give it a mention in this list. I think the principles of this diet are right on, just continue with the diet after 30 days and reintroductions!

Do’s Eat

Fresh Meat

Fresh Vegetabkles

Fresh Fruit

Nuts

Healthy Fats

Don’t Eat

Alcohol

Dairy

Grains – none of them

Legumes

Processed Food – even homemade!

Sugar

White Potatoes

Keywords

Use these keywords to help narrow the recipe search on Google or Pinterest.

Whole30

Whole 30

Resources

General Whole30 Information

Whole30 Recipes

Remember, choose a diet that appeals to you and helps you meet your health goals. I believe one of the four diets above are a good place to start. Notice that the do eat/don’t eat lists are quite similar! This is because I believe everyone should be eating fresh meat, fruit, and vegetables. There are many ways to do that, but that is my standard for a healthy diet.

Naming your new lifestyle will make eating healthier food much easier. All the recipes with those labels will be within the constraints of the diet (always read carefully though!) and should help you feel less stressed when preparing a menu plan or cooking for your family. Baby Steps to Eating Healthier Food, Step 1 | Choose a New Lifestyle is all about getting you started on the right foot so you will succeed. Are you ready?

Are you familiar with these 4 diets? Have you given any of them a try? What were the results? Did you meet your health goals? If not, do you know what went wrong?